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The
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s Restoration series is showing how many outstanding buildings
in Britain have fallen into a state of disrepair.
Part
of the problem is money but lack of trained craftsmen with the skills
to do the intricate repair work is another headache.
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| This
staircase looks like something out of an Escher painting |
But
in a hidden valley in the Cotswolds a school for stonemasons is
teaching the craftsmen and women of the future.
Master
mason Tom Maude reveals the wonderful work going on at Woodchester
Mansion near Stroud on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ West's Inside Out television series.
The
Victorian Gothic mansion was mysteriously abandoned during construction
in 1868 and, after years untouched, a trust was founded in 1989
to save this unique listed building.
Click
on the link below to take a virtual tour of wonderful Woodchester
Mansion
It
has been saved from dereliction but remains unfinished so modern
stonemasons can study centuries-old building techniques and architectural
details - and put them to use to preserve churches, cathedrals and
stately homes across Britain and the world.
You've got all these original remnants. It's like a three-dimensional
textbook of medieval building.  |
| Master
mason Mark Hancock |
Walking
through Woodchester, it looks for all the world as if the builders
went off for a tea-break - and never came back.
Says
Tom Maude: "It's almost as if someone's just come down the
ladder, leaned the square up against the wall and walked away."
Master
mason Mark Hancock has spent many years learning the secrets of
Woodchester.
He
says: "You've got all these original remnants. It's like a
three-dimensional textbook of medieval building.
"William
Leigh who built this house was a very, very devout man. there's
so much of this house which has been built almost in a monastic,
cathedral style."
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| One
of the many gargoyles |
The
exterior is dominated by weird gargoyles and interior ceiling bosses
feature stunning carvings of ferns, vines, and mysterious figures
like the Green Man, a fertility figure from ancient British legend.
The
sometimes creepy feel of this abandoned house is added to by the
fact that Woodchester is also home to one of the largest colonies
of rare horseshoe bats - and the mansion is also reputed to be home
to several ghosts.
>>More
about Woodchester's ghost stories
Neil
Bond, an apprentice at Canterbury Cathedral, is one of the trainee
stonemasons learning his craft at Woodchester.
He
says: "It's great, it's an amazing place.
"I
know it's not completely finished but you can see something which
shows the stages of how this place was built."
>>What's
a hunky punk? A stonemason's ABC
Forsaken
in the 19th century and forgotten for much of the 20th, Woodchester's
legacy is that many more historic buildings will benefit from the
skills being learned here in the 21st century.
Inside
Out on Woodchester Mansion is on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½1 in the West, Monday September
1, 7.30pm.
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